The big catch with Aldi's new delivery service
Aldi launches home delivery option but there's a catch, free rides on NSW trains, and gold sales surge 46%. Here are five things you may have missed this week.
Aldi teams up with DoorDash for delivery
This week saw Aldi partner with DoorDash to bring home delivery to budget conscious shoppers.
The service is initially being launched in Canberra, and while it is expected to roll out across the country, customers outside the nation's capital can still score a slice of Aldi's celebratory savings.
Download the DoorDash app and use the code EARLYBIRD on your first DoorDash order before July 15 anywhere in Australia, and you'll score 30% off that order plus get up to $100 off at Aldi on DoorDash when it launches near you.
There is a twist to the Aldi/DoorDash bromance.
Purchases are limited to fresh fruit and veg, meats, dairy and seafood and other "household essentials".
Aldi's famous middle aisle specials will still need to be purchased in-store.
That's fair enough.
It's hard to see a DoorDasher pedalling their way to your place with a meat smoker strapped to their push bike.
Fare-free 48 hours on all NSW trains
Time to plan a train ride!
More than a million metro and regional train passengers across NSW are expected to travel free of charge for two days on Thursday, July 31 and Friday, August 1.
The fare-free period is a gesture of goodwill towards NSW commuters, who had to put up with recent industrial action across the state's rail network.
From midnight July 31, Opal readers will be switched off at train and metro stations for the fare-free 48 hours, so there'll be no need to tap on and off.
Passengers using NSW TrainLink services will need to book a ticket to secure their seat, but the fare will be refunded.
NSW Minister for Transport John Graham is encouraging commuters to use free travel to get out and about, and support cafes, lunch spots, restaurants and after-work venues.
"Some of these businesses took a big hit during the period of (rail) disruption and they deserve a shot in the arm," he adds.
Free travel will not apply to buses, ferries and light rail.
Demand for gold surges 46% as price soars 41%
It's a sure sign of uncertain times when demand for gold skyrockets.
That's exactly what's happening right now, with the Perth Mint reporting a 46% surge in gold sales over the past 12 months.
June alone saw a 16% rise in Perth Mint gold sales, with close to 33,000 ounces (just under one tonne) of gold sold in the month.
It comes on the back of a 41% jump in the price of gold through the 2024-25 financial year.
If you're keen to invest in gold but not entirely happy about having bullion lying around the house, several exchange traded funds (ETFs) offer exposure to the precious metal.
As a guide, the Global X Physical Gold Structured ETF (Ticker: GOLD) has notched up returns of 43.8% over the last year. The fund has a management fee of 0.4%.
Sotheby's to auction off a T-Rex foot
Auction house Sotheby's has a Tyrannosaurus Rex foot listed for sale at auction.
Dating from the late Cretaceous period, the super-sized set of tootsies is 67 million years old, give or take.
The metre-high fossil is expected to sell for up to $US350,000 (around $A535,000).
Don't have the spare cash? Not a problem. Payments can be made in cryptocurrency.
Question is, as collectibles go, do dinosaur fossils make a good investment?
When it comes to scarcity, dinosaurs have it nailed.
Only 80 T-Rex fossils have ever been found.
Even so, timing can be everything.
Analysis by the US Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts found popular culture can influence the value of prehistoric relics.
Stephen Spielberg's 1993 blockbuster Jurassic Park saw the world gripped by a dinosaur craze, leading to a T-Rex skeleton selling for $US8.4 million - over eight times the expected price.
Why does this matter?
Well, as many parents would know, Jurassic World: Rebirth is currently showing at cinemas, potentially rekindling interest in dinosaurs.
The Sotheby's sale could be your chance to cash in on dino-mania.
Buying a home just became easier for the self-employed
For the 2 million-plus Australians who run their own show, taking out a home loan can mean jumping through a lot more hoops than PAYG workers.
Having proof of income isn't as easy as handing over a pay slip, and lenders often want to see several years' worth of tax assessments.
However, following a 30% jump in lending to self-employed customers in 2024, Westpac is rolling out a new 1-year income assessment option.
James Hutton, managing director of mortgages at Westpac, says, "Self-employed people often have different needs and challenges in accessing home finance because their income can be more variable, or require additional verification to traditional payslips."
He adds, "By introducing a one year income assessment, we are making the home loan process faster and simpler by requiring less documentation."
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